Touch sensor system

ABSTRACT

A touch sensor assembly. The touch sensor assembly may include a housing, at least one touch sensor and a sensor cover. The sensor cover may identify a touch area associated with each touch sensor. The housing may form a water tight cavity for the sensor cover and the touch sensor when coupled to an housing cover. A raised dome may be provided, e.g. on the sensor cover or another element, to provided tactile feed back. LEDs may be provided for illuminating the touch areas and/or sensing ambient light. A controller may control the illumination level of the LEDs in response to sensed ambient light. Adjacent key suppression algorithms are also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/311,432, filed Dec. 19, 2005, which claims the benefit of U.S.provisional application Ser. No. 60/637,098, filed Dec. 17, 2004, theentire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to touch sensor systems and methods.

BACKGROUND

A vehicle may include assemblies for controlling activation ordeactivation of a device. The automotive industry has required that suchdevices provide tactile feedback to a user to indicate when a functionhas been activated or deactivated. Tactile feedback may be achievedusing associated mechanical components, such as a spring and lever in an“over the center” snap-acting arrangement (e.g. in a rocker mechanism),or by the use of other known tactile feedback configurations.

These configurations typically require several components and features.Some of the components may be difficult and expensive to manufacture.For example, a pivot race and pivot shaft for a rocker button may havenarrow tolerances and require a highly polished surface to reducefrictional forces. Conventional assemblies may thus involve complexdesign, high costs, and reduced reliability. In addition, consumerpreferences are leading automobile manufacturers to more streamlined andunobtrusive systems.

At least in part to address these issues, touch sensor configurationshave been adopted. As used herein the term “touch sensor” refers to asensor configuration that provides an output in response to contact witha touch area without requiring movement of a mechanical component toelectrically close or open associated contacts. Numerous analog anddigital touch sensor configurations are well-known to those of ordinaryskill in the art. Known touch sensors use techniques such as resistivesensing, capacitive sensing, acoustic sensing, magnetic sensing, opticalsensing, etc., to providing an output in response to contact with atouch area.

Touch sensor configurations may be less expensive compared conventionalmechanical switch devices, may require less space for installation, andmay be more aesthetically pleasing. Typically, however, touch sensorconfigurations have not provided tactile feedback. Also, in multiplesensor configurations cross-talk between adjacent touch sensors mayprevent or delay proper system operation, and conventional touch sensorsystems may be challenged by harsh environmental conditions, e.g. rain,ice, extreme temperature, vibration, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of embodiments of the disclosed subject matterwill become apparent as the following Detailed Description proceeds, andupon reference to the Drawings, where like numerals depict like parts,and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle incorporating touch sensorassemblies consistent with the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a partial view of the interior cabin area of the vehicle ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a touch sensor system that may be utilizedin the vehicle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view a touch sensor assembly;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the touch sensor assembly of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view the touch sensor assembly of FIG. 4for mounting to an appliqué;

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view the touch sensor assembly of FIG. 4mounted to the appliqué of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the appliqué and touch sensor assembly ofFIG. 7 taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the appliqué and touch sensor assembly ofFIG. 7 taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the touch sensor assembly of FIG.4;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating mounting of a lightemitting diode of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment for providingillumination to a touch area;

FIG. 13 is a diagram of capacitive circuitry having a capacitanceresponsive to contact by a user;

FIG. 14 is a plot of voltage vs. time illustrating the output of anexemplary touch sensor using capacitive circuitry during a touch andnon-touch event;

FIG. 15 includes of plots of voltage vs. time for the outputs of twodifferent touch sensors;

FIG. 16 is a flow chart of operations consistent with an embodiment toenable a multiple touch area command;

FIG. 17 illustrates another embodiment having a reference electrodedisposed between two touch areas;

FIG. 18 is a flow chart of operations consistent with another embodimentutilizing the reference electrode of FIG. 17 to enable a multiple toucharea command;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a steering wheel and a portion of aninstrument panel;

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the raised dome of the sensor coverof FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a representational cross-sectional view of the raised dome ofthe sensor cover of FIG. 19 in a depressed position;

FIG. 22 is a diagram of a touch area pad consistent with anotherembodiment;

FIG. 23 is a flow chart of operations associated with the touch area padof FIG. 22; and

FIG. 24 is a diagram of a touch area pad and a switch of yet anotherembodiment.

Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with referencebeing made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives,modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilledin the art. Accordingly, it is intended that the claimed subject matterbe viewed broadly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments presented herein are described with reference to anautomotive application. It is to be understood, however, that theembodiments described herein are presented by way of illustration, notof limitation. For example, a touch sensor system consistent with thepresent invention may be used in any of a variety of systems, e.g. inconsumer and industrial equipment or appliances, for enabling a userinput to switch or control functions and/or to input data.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a touch sensor assembly consistent with thepresent disclosure utilized at the exterior and interior of a vehicle100. A touch sensor assembly consistent with the present disclosure may,for example, be provided as a user interface portion of a keylessvehicle entry system. Keyless entry systems are well-known and generallyallow a user to unlock a door, e.g. a vehicle or building door, byentering a code on a user interface associated with the door. An outputof the user interface may be provided to a controller configured tounlock the associated door upon entry of a predefined code at the userinterface. In vehicle entry system, a touch sensor assembly 102consistent with the present disclosure may be affixed on or proximatethe B-pillar area 130 of the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 1. In addition,or alternatively, a touch sensor assembly 102 consistent with thepresent disclosure may be located on the front door 186 proximate a doorhandle 188. As shown in FIG. 2, one or more touch sensors 102 may belocated on a vehicle steering wheel 202 and/or on the inside arm restportion 204 of the driver's side door. A touch sensor consistent withthe present disclosure may also be provided on a surface of theinstrument panel.

FIG. 3 illustrates in block diagram form one exemplary embodiment of atouch sensor system 300 including a touch sensor assembly 102, acontroller 302, and one or more vehicle systems 306, 308, 310 coupled tothe controller 302. The touch sensor assembly 102 may include one ormore known touch sensors, e.g. employing resistive sensing, capacitivesensing, acoustic sensing, magnetic sensing, optical sensing, etc., toprovide an output in response to contact with a touch area. Combinationsof touch sensors may be used to provide redundancy.

In operation, a user may cause contact, either directly or indirectly,with one or more of the touch areas, causing the assembly 102 to providean associated output. The output of the assembly 102 may be coupled,e.g. via a vehicle CAN bus, to the controller 302. The controller may beresponsive to the output to control one or more systems, e.g. vehicledoor lock(s), vehicle security system 308, and/or another system 310,such as a vehicle sound system, climate control system, etc. Forexample, in an embodiment wherein the touch sensor system 300 isconfigured as a vehicle entry system, the controller 315 may beresponsive to signals from the assembly 102 to control the vehicle doorlocks 305 to lock or unlock one or more doors.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one exemplary embodiment 102 a of atouch sensor assembly that may be installed at the exterior of avehicle, e.g., on the B-pillar or adjacent a door handle as shown inFIG. 1, for use in connection with a vehicle entry system. The touchsensor assembly 102 a may include a sensor cover 402 visible to a user.The sensor cover 402 may identify a plurality of touch areas usingalpha-numeric and/or other graphics. In the illustrated exemplaryembodiment, a first touch area 420 is indicated by numerals 1 and 2, asecond touch area is indicated by numerals 3 and 4, a third touch area424 is indicated by numerals 5 and 6, a fourth touch area 426 isindicated by numerals 7 and 8, and a fifth touch area 428 is indicatedby numerals 9 and 0.

As shown in the exploded view of FIG. 5, each of the touch areas 420,422, 424, 426, and 428 may be associated with a corresponding touchsensor 430, 432, 434, 436, and 438, respectively, whereby contact withthe surface of the sensor cover in a touch area causes the correspondingtouch sensor to provide an associated output. The touch sensors may bedisposed on a printed circuit board (PCB) 404, carrying conductivetraces for providing sensor outputs to associated contacts 403.

The PCB 404 and the sensor cover 402 may be configured to be received atleast partially within a housing 406 with the PCB disposed between thehousing 406 and the sensor cover 402. The housing 406 include aplurality of pins 502 each of which is electrically connected to acorresponding one of the pins 403. The pins 502 may extend to aconnector portion 440 for electrically coupling the touch sensorassembly 102 a to other components such as the controller 302 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of an assembly touch sensor assembly 102 aand a housing cover 602. The housing cover 602 may, for example, be anappliqué attached to the B-pillar area 130 of a vehicle or to the trimarea of the front door 186 proximate the front window 180. The housingcover 602 may include a plurality of screw bosses 610, 612, 614, and 616configured to accept a corresponding plurality of screws 640, 642, 644,and 646 to assist in securing the touch sensor assembly 102 a to therear surface 603 of the housing cover 602. The rear surface 603 of thehousing cover 602 may also include a projection 604 configured to matewith a corresponding slot in the housing 406 of the touch sensorassembly 102 a. In one embodiment, the projection 604 may be anupstanding wall defining a closed geometry.

The rear surface 603 of the housing cover 602 may include a portion 605adjacent to the top surface of the sensor cover 402 when the touchsensor assembly 102 a is mounted to the housing cover 602. This portion605 of the housing cover 602 may formed of a sufficiently translucentmaterial to allow viewing of the touch area indicators on the sensorcover when housing cover 602 is coupled to the assembly. The translucentmaterial may be selected so that the touch area indicators on the sensorcover 402 are not readily visible to user unless illuminated by a lightsource of the switch assembly 102 a. In this way, the housing cover 602may mask the sensor cover 402 until the touch sensor assembly 102 a isactivated, e.g., by touching the housing cover 602 at a position aboveone of the touch areas.

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of the touch sensor assembly 102 amounted to the rear surface 603 of the housing cover 602. FIG. 8 is asectional view of the housing cover 602 and touch sensor assembly takenalong the line 8-8 of FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 8, the rear surface ofthe housing cover 602 may contact the top surface of the sensor cover402 to minimize the distance between the housing cover and the sensingcircuitry of the PCB 404. The rear surface of the sensor cover 402 maycontact the touch sensors on the PCB 404. The upstanding wall 604 of thehousing cover 602 may be configured to mate with an associated slot 803of the housing 406. A channel 802 may be provided in the bottom of theslot 803 to accept a gasket and/or an adhesive, for example epoxy, glue,etc. The gasket and/or adhesive may form a seal between the upstandingwall 604 of the housing cover 602 and the associated slot 803.

Turning to FIG. 9, there is provided a sectional view of the housingcover 602 and touch sensor assembly taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. 7.As shown, the sensor cover 402 may include projections 940, 942 to matewith associated portions of the housing 406, e.g. through a snap-fitconnection. When the housing cover 602 is properly mounted to thehousing 406, a cavity 806 defined by the rear surface 603 of the housingcover 602 and the top surface of the housing 406 may be formed. Thecavity 806 may be substantially water tight, and the PCB 404 and thesensor cover 402 may be completely disposed within the cavity 806.

FIG. 10 is a perspective and cross-sectional view of the touch sensorassembly 102 a. As shown, a light emitting diode (LED) 1000, 1002, 1004,1006, and 1008 may be positioned beneath each of the touch areas 420,422, 424, 426, and 428 of the sensor cover 402 to provide illumination.Each LED may be mounted to a bottom surface of the PCB 404. FIG. 11, forexample, illustrates positioning of the LED 1008 relative to the toucharea 428. As shown, the LED may be mounted to the bottom surface 1012 ofthe PCB 404 with the illumination surface of the LED 1008 spaced adistance x from the touch area 428 to be illuminated. This distance xmay be selected depending on the application to achieve a desiredillumination coverage area for the touch area 428.

FIG. 12 illustrates another LED mounting configuration for providingillumination of the touch areas of the sensor cover 402. In theexemplary embodiment of FIG. 12, the LED is mounted to the bottomsurface 1012 of the LED with the illumination surface 1010 of the LED ata distance x1 from the touch area to be illuminated. To maximize thedistance x1 to achieve illumination over the length L of the touch area,the thickness d of the sensor cover 402 may be adjusted (e.g. minimized)and the sensor cover may be separated from the PCB by a distance x2.Since separation of the sensor cover 402 from the PCB 404 may adverselyaffect the capacitive coupling of a touch on the touch area 428 to theassociated touch sensor 438, one or more conductors, e.g. conductors1202 and 1204, may be provided for conductively coupling sensor cover404 to the touch sensor 438.

In yet another embodiment, one or more of the LEDs may function both aslight source and a light sensor to sense an ambient light level, or aseparate LED may be provided for sensing ambient light levels. A signalrepresentative of the sensed ambient light may be provided from an LEDto an associated controller, e.g., controller 302, which may adjust thelight output established by one or more of the LEDs in response thereto.When the touch sensor assembly is not in use, the controller may notdrive the LEDs to disable illumination of the sensor cover. When theuser touches a touch area, the controller may energize the LEDs toilluminate the touch areas. If the user touches a touch area during highambient light conditions such as daylight, the controller may drive theLEDs to achieve maximum illumination of the touch areas so the user canread each of the touch areas even in direct sunlight. If the usertouches a touch area during low ambient light conditions such as atnight, the controller may drive the LEDs to illuminate the sensor coverat a comparatively lower level to provide appropriate light contrast forthe user. The controller, e.g., controller 302, may be a component ofthe touch sensor assembly 102 a so that light sensing and regulation maybe accomplished within the touch sensor assembly 102 a to allow fordirect substitution with an existing mechanical entry system.

FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram of one embodiment of an exemplary touchsensor 1300 useful in a touch sensor assembly consistent with thepresent disclosure. The touch sensor 1300 may include a plurality ofswitches S1, S3, S3, a sample capacitor Cs, and an unknown or variablecapacitance Cx to be measured. The variable capacitance Cx may initiallybe the capacitance of the touch sensor 1302 to free space or to anelectrical ground. The touch sensor 1302 may include a sense electrodewhich may further include spaced conductive traces (e.g., hard printedcircuit board traces, thin or thick film flex circuitry) in a range ofpatterns to customize performance. The variable capacitance Cx maychange with the proximity of an object thereto, e.g., a finger of theuser, which may introduce a parasitic capacitance to ground. Theswitches S1, S2, and S3 may control charge transfer between capacitancesCx and Cs so that the voltage Vcs across capacitor Cs may be used as anindication of the value of capacitance Cx. Additional and otherexemplary capacitive circuitries having a capacitance responsive to theproximity of an object thereto are described in detail in U.S. Pat. No.6,466,036, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 14 includes a plot of output voltage vs. time associated with theexemplary touch sensor of FIG. 13. The output of the sensor may beprovided to a controller, e.g. controller 302, for controlling anassociated function. As shown, if the output voltage maintains areference voltage level 1408 a non-touch event is assumed. If the outputvoltage exceeds the negative detection threshold 1404 for a specifiedtime interval, e.g., time interval t1, then a touch event is determinedto have occurred for the associated touch area. In one embodiment, timeinterval t1 may be 250 milliseconds.

Inadvertent actuation may occur in capacitive touch circuitryapplications. Inadvertent actuation may be exacerbated by environmentalfactors such as rain, frost, and condensation. In some instances, a usermay touch one touch area and moisture on the touch areas may causecross-talk with another touch area. An output voltage indicating a touchevent on two touch areas may be provided.

To address such inadvertent actuation from cross-talk, touch sensingsystems may utilize a touch area suppression algorithm. In oneembodiment, a touch area suppression algorithm may identify signals thatexceed a detection threshold for a necessary time interval, and comparesuch signals to each other to determine which signal exceeds thenegative detection threshold by the largest difference. The touch areasuppression algorithm may select the strongest signal, e.g., the signalthat exceeds the detection threshold by the largest difference, andignore the weaker signal. The touch area suppression algorithm may thusenable only one touch area to be detected at a time.

In applications where two touch areas must be simultaneously touched inorder to initiate a particular function, it may be necessary to detectsimultaneous touching of the touch areas. For example, in a keylessentry system application the system may be configured to allow lockingall doors of a vehicle by simultaneously touching the fourth touch area426 having numerals [7-8] and the fifth touch area 428 having numerals[9-0]. Such an operation may be prevented by a conventional touch areasuppression algorithm, which may select only the strongest signal fromone, but not both, touch areas. FIG. 15, for example, includes plots1502, 1504 of voltage vs. time for capacitive touch sensors associatedwith the touch areas 428 and 426, respectively. In the illustratedembodiment, if touch areas 428 and 426 were simultaneously touched, aconventional touch area suppression algorithm may select the strongestsignal, i.e. from touch area 426, and ignore the weaker signal fromtouch area 428.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart of operations 1600 of a algorithm consistentwith an embodiment of the invention to enable a multiple touch areacommand while still utilizing a conventional touch area suppressionfeature. The flow charts set forth herein may include particularsequences of steps. It can be appreciated, however, that the sequence ofsteps merely provides an example of how the general functionalitydescribed herein can be implemented. Further, each sequence of stepsdoes not have to be executed in the order presented unless otherwiseindicated.

Also, it will be appreciated that the functionality described for theembodiments of the invention may be implemented by a controller, e.g.controller 302, or other system component using hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software, and well-known signal processingtechniques. If implemented in software, a processor and machine-readablemedium is required. The processor may be any type of processor capableof providing the speed and functionality required by the embodiments ofthe invention. For example, the processor could be a processor from thePentium® family of processors made by Intel Corporation, or the familyof processors made by Motorola. Machine-readable media include any mediacapable of storing instructions adapted to be executed by a processor.Some examples of such media include, but are not limited to, read-onlymemory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), programmable ROM (PROM),erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electronically erasable programmableROM (EEPROM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), magnetic disk (e.g. floppy disk andhard drive), optical disk (e.g. CD-ROM), and any other device that canstore digital information. In one embodiment, the instructions arestored on the medium in a compressed and/or encrypted format.

As used herein, the phrase “adapted to be executed by a processor” ismeant to encompass instructions stored in a compressed and/or encryptedformat, as well as instructions that have to be compiled or installed byan installer before being executed by the processor. Further, theprocessor and machine-readable medium may be part of a larger systemthat may contain various combinations of machine-readable storagedevices through various I/O controllers, which are accessible by theprocessor and which are capable of storing a combination of computerprogram instructions and data.

With reference to FIG. 16, operation 1602 may start or enable aconventional touch area suppression algorithm. In operation 1604, a usermay simultaneously touch two touch areas. If the associated signal foreach touch area is below the negative detection threshold, then thetouch area suppression algorithm may output a binary coded decimal (BCD)value for the particular touch area having the strongest signal. Forexample, assuming the two touch areas touched were the fourth touch area426 having numerals [7-8] and the fifth touch area 428 having numerals[9-0] and the results were as depicted in FIG. 15, operation 1604 woulddetermine that the signal associated with the fourth touch area 426 isstronger than the signal associated with the fifth touch area 428.Accordingly, the BCD value for the fourth touch area would be provided.Each touch area may have an associated BCD value and the BCD value forthe fourth touch area 426 may be “110.”

Operation 1606 may determine if the strongest signal from operation 1604is below the negative detection threshold for a specified time intervalt1. In one embodiment, time t1 may be 250 milliseconds. If not, theoperations may cycle back to operation 1602. If the strongest signal isless than the negative detection threshold for the specified timeinterval, then operation 1608 may check if another signal associatedwith a second touch area is also less than the negative detectionthreshold for the specified time interval. If not, then operation 1610may continue to output the BCD value of operation 1604 until the toucharea is released 1612.

If the second signal is also less than the negative detection thresholdfor the specified time interval, then operation 1614 may check if anyother signal from any other third touch area also meets these criteria.If not, then the initial BCD value first output in operation 1604 may bechanged to the BCD value associated with a particular function for thetwo touch areas simultaneously touched. For example, if the fourth toucharea 426 having numerals [7-8] and the fifth touch area 428 havingnumerals [9-0] are simultaneously touched the BCD code value output inoperation 1604 (e.g., “110”) would change to the BCD code value to lockall doors, e.g., “100.” If another signal associated with a third toucharea is also less than the negative detection threshold for thespecified time interval, then operation 1618 would do nothing and notoutput a BCD value until all touch areas returned to an untouched stateand then would cycle back to start 1620.

Therefore, if both touch areas are touched resulting in associatedsignals, e.g., signals 1502 and 1504 of FIG. 15, that less than negativedetection threshold for a specified time interval, e.g., time t1, thenthe associated function would be implemented. This could be theautomatic locking feature for all doors if the fourth touch area 426 andthe fifth touch area 428 are touched simultaneously. This improves theability of the touch sensor assembly to address inadvertent touch areaactuation from cross-talk while also allowing multiple touch areafunctions to be implemented. Although the above operations 1600 aredetailed with respect to pressing two touch areas simultaneously, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that similar operations could beperformed to check for simultaneous touching of three or more touchareas.

Another example of a multiple touch area command in a touch sensorassembly is the enable/disable of an auto lock feature. In this example,the user may first touch and hold the fourth touch area 426 havingnumerals [7-8]. The BCD value associated with the fourth touch area maybe output and the user may then touch the second touch area 422 havingnumerals [3-4] while still simultaneously touching the fourth touch area426. If both the signals for the second 422 and fourth touch areas 426are less than the negative detection threshold for the specified timeinterval, the BCD value for the second step of the auto lockenable/disable feature may be output even if the touch area suppressionalgorithm is enabled.

FIG. 17 illustrates another embodiment consistent with the presentinvention having a reference electrode incorporated into the touchsensor assembly and disposed between two touch areas. The referenceelectrode may be disposed between any two of the five touch areas 1720,1722, 1724, 1726, or 1728 that may be touched simultaneously to activatea desired function. In the embodiment of FIG. 17, the referenceelectrode 1702 is illustrated between the fourth touch area 1726 havingnumerals [7-8] and the fifth touch area 1728 having numerals [9-0].

FIG. 18 illustrates flow chart of an algorithm associated with the touchsensor assembly of FIG. 17 having the reference electrode 1702 disposedbetween the fourth touch area 1726 and fifth touch area 1728. Manyoperations of the algorithm of FIG. 18 are similar to FIG. 16 and arelabeled as such. Accordingly, any repetitive descriptions are omittedherein for clarity. The main difference comparing operations 1800 tooperations 1600 are that operations 1800 use a reference signal from thereference electrode 1702 and are for two specific touch areas (thefourth touch area 1726 and fifth touch area 1728) and a specific doorlock function, as opposed to generic touch areas and a generic functionof operations 1600.

If all three signals associated with the fourth touch area 1728, fifthtouch area 1728, and the reference electrode 1702 are less than anegative detection threshold for the specified time interval t1, thenthe doors do not lock 1818 and the system waits until the signalsassociated with the fourth touch area 1726, the fifth touch area 1728,and the reference electrode 1702 return to a low state. If the fourthsignal and fifth signal are less than the negative detection thresholdfor the specified time interval t1, and the reference signal is not,then the BCD value is changed to the lock door code 1816. Thus, thereference electrode 1702 and its associated signal further protectagainst an inadvertent operation of a multi touch area operation such asthe door lock operation.

Inadvertent actuation of touch areas and lack of tactile feedback for auser are considerations when designing touch sensor assemblies utilizingcapacitive sensing circuitry. Inadvertent actuation of touch areas mayoccur if a person passes their finger over touch areas when trying tolocate an intended touch area. It would be desirable to preventactuation of the functions associated with the unintended touch areas asthe user attempts to locate the intended touch area. This inadvertentactuation may be more likely to occur in a system application wherethere are multiple touch areas in close proximity to one another.Providing tactile feedback to the user to indicate that the touch areahas been selected may also be desirable in certain instances.

FIG. 19 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention toaddress inadvertent actuation of touch areas and to provide tactilefeedback to a user when using a touch sensor assembly having capacitivesensing circuitry. Those skilled in the art will recognize many othersystem applications. The system of FIG. 19 includes touch sensorassemblies 1980 and 1982 coupled to a steering wheel 1900 of a vehicle.The right touch sensor assembly 1982 may include a first touch area 1950for a phone, a second touch area 1952 for an increase in radio volume, athird touch area 1954 for a decrease in radio volume, and a fourth toucharea 1956 for a right blinker of the vehicle. Advantageously, the sensorcover 1902 of the right touch sensor assembly 1982 may have a raisedportion over each touch area 1950, 1952, 1954, and 1956. The raisedportion of the sensor cover 1902 may be in the form of a raised dome.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of a raised dome 1912 of the sensorcover 1902 for the first touch area 1950. The raised dome portion 1912of the sensor cover 1902 may have a height dl above the touch sensor1906 of the associated touch sensor for that touch area 1950. Therefore,if a user passes a finger or other object over the raised dome 1912 theheight dl of the raised dome will maintain the user's finger asufficient distance from the touch sensor 1906 to help avoid aninadvertent actuation of the first touch area 1950 function.

FIG. 21 illustrates a representational view of the raised dome 1912 ofFIG. 20 in a depressed or deformed position when the first touch area1950 is the intended touch area to be selected by the user. When a userapplies downward pressure to the raised dome 1912, the raised dome 1912temporarily collapses to allow the actuation of the first touch area1950 function. When the user removes the pressure, the raised dome 1912may return to its position of FIG. 20. In addition to enhancingprotection against inadvertent actuation of touch areas, the raised dome1912 may also advantageously provide tactile feedback to a user. Theraised dome 1912 may be incorporated into the sensor cover 1902 tominimize components. Alternatively, the raised dome 1912 may be providedas a separate structure from the sensor cover 1902.

FIG. 22 illustrates a touch area pad 2200 having a plurality of touchareas for numerals 1-9. Each touch area may have an associated touchsensor located beneath the touch area. The proximity of the touch areasto each other may cause outputs from touch sensors associated withunintended touch areas as a user moves to touch an intended touch area.For example, a user may intend to touch area numeral 5 and may pass bytouch area numerals 4 and 7 before reaching touch area numeral 5. Atouch sensor associated with numerals 4 and 7 may detect a change incapacitance. Even if a user touches a touch area on the outsideperimeter of the touch area pad 2200, e.g., adjacent touch area numeral7, other circuitries associated with other touch areas may exhibit asensed change in capacitance.

FIG. 23 illustrates operations 2300 of an algorithm consistent withanother embodiment to assist with inadvertent actuation of touch areasin systems such as the touch area pad of FIG. 22. Operation 2302 maymonitor the change in capacitance for circuitries associated with alltouch areas, e.g., all touch area numerals 1-9 of FIG. 22. Operation2304 may analyze if any cross-talk is occurring. Cross-talk may be, forexample, a change in capacitance of any two or more capacitive touchsensing circuitries. If no cross-talk is occurring, then no signal isoutput and the operations 2300 continue to monitor the change incapacitance associated with all the touch areas. If there is cross-talk,then the strongest signal is determined and the function or outputassociated with the strongest signal may be executed 2306. For example,during a touch of intended touch area numeral 5, some neighboring touchareas may have associated circuitries that sense a higher than normalchange in capacitance. The change in capacitance for those circuitriesmay not be as high as the change in capacitance for the intended toucharea numeral 5 which therefore helps confirm that touch area numeral 5is the intended touch area.

FIG. 24 illustrates yet another embodiment consistent with the presentinvention having a touch area pad 2400 coupled to an electromechanicalswitch 2404. In the embodiment of FIG. 24, a user would make a selectionof one of the touch areas for numerals 1-9 using the touch area pad2400. The touch area pad 2400 may provide feedback, e.g., audio orvisual, to the user to indicate the selected touch area. If highlightedselected touch area is indeed the intended touch area, the user may thenpress the electromechanical switch 2404 for final activation of theselected touch area. The electromechanical switch 2404 may thereforeprovide another measure against unintended switch activations.

In summary, there is provided a touch sensor assembly. The touch sensorassembly may include a housing, a circuit board configured to bereceived at least partially in the housing, at least one touch sensorcoupled to the circuit board, and a sensor cover configured to bereceived at least partially in the housing with the circuit boarddisposed between the housing and the sensor cover. The sensor coverincludes a graphical indicator of a touch area associated with the atleast one touch sensor. The housing includes a mating feature configuredto mate with a corresponding feature on a rear surface of an housingcover to provide a substantially water tight cavity for enclosing thecircuit board and the sensor cover between the housing and the housingcover.

According to another aspect, there is provided a touch sensor assemblyincluding a touch sensor configured to provide an output in response tocontact with a touch area, and a raised dome portion positioned over thetouch area. The raised dome may be configured to provide tactilefeedback to a user if the user depresses the raised dome.

According to another aspect, there is provided a touch sensor assemblyincluding a touch sensor configured to provide an output in response tocontact with a touch area, a sensor cover configured to at leastpartially cover the touch sensor, the sensor cover including a graphicalindicator identifying a position of the touch area; and at least oneconductor coupling the sensor cover to the touch sensor.

According to yet another aspect, there is provided a touch sensorassembly including a touch sensor configured to provide an output inresponse to contact with a touch area, a sensor cover configured to atleast partially cover the touch sensor and including a graphicalindicator identifying a position of the touch area, a controller; and alight emitting diode (LED). The LED is configured to illuminate at leasta portion of the touch area and to sense an ambient light level adjacentthe touch area. The controller is configured to control an illuminationlevel provided by the LED in response to the sensed ambient light level.

According to yet another aspect there is provided a method of monitoringa plurality of touch areas of a touch sensor assembly. The method mayinclude: identifying a first signal of a plurality of signals thatexceeds a threshold level for a first time interval, each one of theplurality of signals corresponding to a different one of the pluralityof touch areas, the first signal corresponding to a first touch area ofthe plurality of touch areas; providing a first output signal associatedwith the first signal; identifying a second signal of the plurality ofsignals that also exceeds the threshold level for the first timeinterval, the second signal corresponding to a second touch area of theplurality of touch areas; and changing the first output signal to asecond output signal associated with a simultaneous touching of thefirst touch area and the second touch area if no other of the pluralityof signals exceeds the threshold level for the first time interval.

According to yet another aspect there is provided a method of monitoringa plurality of touch areas of a touch sensor assembly. The method mayinclude: identifying a first signal of a plurality of signals thatexceeds a threshold level for a first time interval, each one of theplurality of signals corresponding to a different one of the pluralityof touch areas, the first signal corresponding to a first touch area ofthe plurality of touch areas; providing a first output signal associatedwith the first signal; identifying a second signal of the plurality ofsignals that also exceeds the threshold level for the first timeinterval, the second signal corresponding to a second touch area of theplurality of touch areas; and changing the first output signal to asecond output signal associated with a simultaneous touching of thefirst touch area and the second touch area if a reference signalcorresponding to a reference electrode does not exceed the thresholdlevel for the first time interval.

The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used asterms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention,in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalentsof the features shown and described (or portions thereof), and it isrecognized that various modifications are possible within the scope ofthe claims. Other modifications, variations, and alternatives are alsopossible. Accordingly, the claims are intended to cover all suchequivalents.

1. A touch sensor assembly comprising: a housing; a circuit boardconfigured to be received at least partially in said housing; at leastone light emitting diode (LED) coupled to said circuit board; at leastone touch sensor coupled to said circuit board; and a sensor coverconfigured to be received at least partially in said housing with saidcircuit board disposed between said housing and said sensor cover, saidsensor cover comprising a graphical indicator of a touch area associatedwith said at least one touch sensor, said housing comprising a matingfeature configured to mate with a corresponding feature on a rearsurface of an housing cover to provide a substantially water tightcavity for enclosing said circuit board and said sensor cover betweensaid housing and said housing cover, said housing cover comprising atranslucent material configured to obscure said graphical indicator sothat it is not readily visible unless said LED is illuminated.
 2. Thetouch sensor assembly of claim 1, wherein said mating feature comprisesa slot extending about a perimeter of said housing, and wherein saidcorresponding feature of said housing cover comprises a projection, saidslot configured to accept said projection to provide said substantiallywater tight cavity.
 3. The touch sensor assembly of claim 2, whereinsaid projection comprises an upstanding wall defining a closed geometry.4. The touch sensor assembly of claim 2, wherein an adhesive is at leastpartially disposed within said slot.
 5. The touch sensor assembly ofclaim 1, wherein said at least one light emitting diode (LED) is mountedto a bottom surface of said circuit board and configured forilluminating said touch area.
 6. The touch sensor assembly of claim 1,said assembly comprising a plurality of said touch sensors coupled tosaid circuit board, and a plurality of said graphical indicators, eachof said graphical indicators being associated with one of said touchsensors, said assembly further comprising a plurality of said lightemitting diodes (LEDs) , each of said LEDs being mounted to said bottomsurface of said circuit board, each of said LEDs being configured forilluminating an associated one of said touch areas.
 7. The touch sensorassembly of claim 1, wherein said graphical indicator is provided on araised dome portion of said sensor cover, said raised dome portion beingpositioned to be disposed over said touch sensor upon assembly of saidcircuit board and said sensor cover to said housing.
 8. The touch sensorassembly of claim 1, wherein said touch sensor comprises capacitivecircuitry configured to exhibit a capacitance responsive to contact withsaid touch area.
 9. The touch sensor assembly of claim 1, wherein saidtouch sensor comprises a variable capacitance that changes in responseto contact with said touch area to establish an associated outputvoltage to be used by a controller for determining if said touch areahas been touched by a user; and a raised dome portion positioned oversaid touch area, said raised dome portion being configured to deforminto contact with said touch sensor upon application of a force to saidraised dome portion toward said touch sensor and being configured toreturn to a non-deformed state when said force is removed, said raiseddome having height above said touch sensor in said non-deformed stategreat enough so that said touch sensor will not provide said outputunless said raised dome is deformed into said deformed state by saidforce.
 10. The touch sensor assembly of claim 1, wherein said at leastone touch sensor comprises variable capacitance that changes in responseto contact with a touch area to establish an associated output voltageto be used by a controller for determining if said touch area has beentouched by a user.
 11. The touch sensor assembly of claim 1, saidassembly further comprising: at least one conductor coupling said sensorcover to said touch sensor.
 12. The touch sensor assembly of claim 11,said sensor cover having a bottom surface spaced a distance from anilluminating surface of said LED, said distance selected to provide adesired illumination coverage area by said LED on said touch area. 13.The touch sensor of claim 12, wherein said touch sensor is coupled tosaid circuit board, and wherein said LED is coupled to a bottom surfaceof said circuit board.
 14. The touch sensor assembly of claim 1, saidassembly further comprising: a controller, wherein said light emittingdiode (LED) is configured to illuminate at least a portion of said toucharea and to sense an ambient light level adjacent said touch area, saidcontroller configured to control an illumination level provided by saidLED in response to said sensed ambient light level.
 15. The touch sensorassembly of claim 14, wherein said illumination level provided by saidLED is at a first illumination level for a first ambient light level andat a second illumination level for a second ambient light level, saidfirst ambient light level greater than said second ambient light level,and said first illumination level greater than said second illuminationlevel.
 16. The touch sensor assembly of claim 14, wherein said LED iscoupled to a bottom surface of said circuit board.
 17. The touch sensorassembly of claim 9, further comprising a reference electrode disposedadjacent said at least one touch sensor.
 18. The touch sensor assemblyof claim 14, further comprising a reference electrode disposed adjacentsaid touch sensor, configured to prevent said output based on a signalfrom said electrode.